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Bear Stew isnt bad if done right, grew up eating squirrel, or tree rats, deer, and many varietys of our little feathered friends. Killing animals doesnt bother me, but then I dont put animals on the same level as humans. Actually dont lose any sleep over the humans Ive killed either.

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The spring bear hunt was cancelled in 1999 by the Conservative provincial government because it was determined that sow bears were being killed, leaving orphaned cubs behind. Subsequently, the fall bear-hunting season was extended. In the Parry Sound area bear season now starts the Tuesday after Labour Day, instead of September 15.

Some people believe the cancelled spring bear hunt has increased the number of nuisance bears and bear attacks on humans because of the increased bear population. But there is no scientific data to uphold that notion, says Cambrian College's Dr. Josef Hamr.

"First of all, in the first year they're out of the den, they are with their mothers," said Dr. Hamr. "So, if they came near human residences it's because the mother takes them there. In the fall, there is a hunt, and the hunting season is longer now. During that time, people shoot at them. I don't think not shooting at them in the spring makes them less afraid."

Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller raised the issue of the cancelled spring bear hunt at Queen's Park earlier this month. He asked the Minister of Natural Resources and Aboriginal Affairs David Ramsay if he would honour one of his campaign promises to reinstate it.

"This must be a sheep in bear's clothing, I think, that's asking me this question today, and it's interesting. What I think the member should note is, that as bears begin to wake up now as the winter is over, so do the bear hunt questions that come in the spring. It's an annual thing with the opposition," Mr. Ramsay responded in the Legislature.

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OTTAWA - The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters the largest nonprofit, charitable conservation based organization in Ontario, recently reported that nuisance bear calls to the Ministry of Natural Resources have increased by almost five hundred per cent since the Harris government cancelled the spring bear hunt in 1999.

A recent scientific study published by bear biologists in Manitoba has conclusively demonstrated that the presence of a spring bear hunt is a valuable wildlife management tool that has helped to hold nuisance bears in check in Manitoba, where a spring bear hunt still exists. During the same four-year period when nuisance bears in Ontario were becoming a significant problem and posing an increasing threat to public safety, the Province of Manitoba experienced no increase in the number of calls about nuisance bears.

Necessary tool

"The conclusions provided by these biologists offers further proof that the spring bear hunt is an important tool in reducing or maintaining problem bear incidents at tolerable levels and is biologically sustainable," said OFAH provincial manager of fish and wildlife services Dr. Terry Quinney. "The findings in this report supports the OFAH position that the cancellation of the spring hunt in Ontario, and the startling increase in the number of nuisance bears are directly related.

"For years we have argued that the two issues are closely linked, but the Harris government refused to recognize the science around the issue and cancelled the hunt for reasons of political expediency."

The OFAH is asking the Ontario government to review the Manitoba science immediately and tell the Ontario taxpayers the truth about the clear connection between no spring bear hunt and the rising nuisance bear problems and associated costs.

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When man encroaches on a bear's environment, why is that the bear is the one who ends up dead?

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